The experiences they enable could previously be created only by Snap designers

Snapchat introduced some new capabilities for the templates in its Lens Studio, opening up experiences that could previously be created only by Snap Inc. designers.

According to Snapchat, since Lens Studio debuted in December 2017, some 250,000 Lenses have been submitted by creators, and those Lenses have been views 15 billion times.

Snap Inc. said in its second-quarter earnings report that 100,000 Lenses had been submitted, tallying 3.5 billion views, meaning that since the end of June, the number of Lenses submitted has more than doubled, and views have jumped fourfold.

The new segmentation template in Lens Studio will enable creators to design experiences such as transforming hair into glittering colors, turning the sky into an underwater scene or transporting subjects into new environments.

Snapchat also introduced a marker tracking template, providing the ability to transform 2D images by tightly tracking animations to flat image markers, potentially bringing street art, posters and logos to life. These experiences are unlocked by placing Snapcodes near the imagery.

Finally, creators can invite people on Snapchat to add faces from the camera rolls on their smartphones to their Lenses.

Angel Wings

Snapchat

Vibrant Oasis

Snapchat

A Snap spokesperson said the company believes that the engagement it is seeing from creators is an indicator of a shift in the augmented reality ecosystem, making AR creation available to people beyond technical professionals.